The Mahabharat is one of the most renowned epic poems of all times. It contains 100,000 couplets, and is nearly eight times as long as Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey put together. This colossal epic was composed by the renowned sage Ved Vyas, and it was none other than Lord Ganesh who assisted him in scripting this enormous text.
The Mahabharat is an extremely gripping narrative of internecine warfare in the Kuru family. It tells the story of how the Kauravas resorted to the deceit and treachery to cheat the Pandavas of their kingdom, how the Pandavas fought for their rights, and how in the end good triumphed over evil. However, unlike the Greek epics, the Mahabharat is much more than an enthralling story. It conveys a very strong philosophical and spiritual message. It is interspersed with numerous episodes that serve as great lessons for tackling difficult situations that we may encounter in our day-to-day life.
Another reason to revere this sacred text is that the most prized jewel of the Vedic scriptures, the Bhagavad Gita, finds its home within the core of the Mahabharat. As if to reinforce the fact that the message of the Bhagavad Gita is applicable in even the most difficult conditions, Lord Krishna revealed the Bhagavad Gita to Arjun on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the extremely chaotic setting of the onset of the great battle between the Pandavas and the Kauravas.
The Mahabharat is truly a timeless classic and its message is highly relevant even in this day and age.
